


Short Hair

by ElfGrove



Series: Shiro/Pidge Fluff Collection [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Light Angst, Lion Paladin Bond, Lion Paladin Psychic Bond, Mutual Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Written on the assumption the age gap is small
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-07-21 21:47:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7406107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElfGrove/pseuds/ElfGrove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just some quick, self-indulgent fluff themed around the changing hairdos of the two characters. It'll be 2 or 3 short chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He woke slowly to the strange feeling of fingers running back and forth along the side and back of his head. It was a gentle thing, so unlike anything in recent memory. He could hardly remember the last time he’d had any sort of gentle skinship that he hadn’t initiated. The Team was making a coordinated unspoken effort to make sure there was more positive physical contact in his life. High fives, encouraging slaps and punches to his shoulder, bone crushing (and often desperately relieved) hugs. It was deeply appreciated and comforting in its own way, but none of that was particularly gentle. So now gentleness like this, seemed strange and almost alien. 

Shiro cracked one eye open to find he was laying on the couch in one of the castleship’s numerous lounges. The pad he’d been reading one of Pidge’s latest Galra information translations on had been carefully placed on the table in front of him. His head was elevated and resting on... someone’s thigh. He must have fallen asleep while reading the report, and amazingly hadn’t been woken by a nightmare of his half-recalled imprisonment. The fingers of his unseen human pillow kept moving gently over the buzzed gray hair. He didn’t really want them to stop, but it would seem inappropriate -- it was inappropriate -- to let it go on. 

He hummed and stretched exaggeratedly, giving them fair warning, before turning his face up to see who was behind the caress. There was a familiar squeak of protest as he moved, and he was looking up at a red-faced Pidge.

“Sorry!” Her hands were awkwardly positioned in midair, uncertain of finding a neutral place to rest. “I was just letting my mind wander, and I ended up-- I didn’t mean to...” She sputtered out helplessly before she started rambling, "I'm sorry."

He couldn't help but smile, "It's fine."

He sat up, turning on the couch so he was no longer even touching her, but still gave her his full attention. She must have been waiting for him to wake up because she needed something. 

She didn't say anything, so he continued talking, running his own fingers experimentally over the short hairs that covered the back of his head. "It feels weird when you're used to long hair, right?"

"It doesn't feel weird," She retorted defensively, although he wasn't sure what she was defending. "Although, I haven't had long hair for a while, so maybe I wouldn't know."

"You'd know better than I do," He chuckled, staring at his fingers in bemusement. "Aside from the color, I've pretty much had the same hair since I joined the Garrison."

Her eyes darted from his eyes, to the side a couple of times before she cleared her throat, "Can I?"

Somewhere in his chest, everything hitched for half a tick, and he smiled a little wider, determined not to think about that internal hiccup, "Sure."

He leaned forward just the tiniest bit when she lifted herself up to her knees and reached out a hand to caress the short hair near the nape of his neck, following it up to where he let it grow longer on top. He closed his eyes against the proximity of her face as she stared past him, carefully monitoring her own movements.

"It's really soft," She whispered. "Kind of reminds me of a kitten. Well, shorter. The Altean mice, I guess."

He chuckled, leaning ever so slightly into the contact, the gentleness, "Is that a good thing?"

"Yeah." She was silent for a long moment, petting the back of his head, letting her fingers dig slightly in the longer hair before running back down, ruffling and smoothing the short hair until she met skin. "It's comforting somehow. Like you. Feels nice."

He hummed in response without thinking, feeling comforted himself. He was still a little starved for human contact, this rare gentleness even more so.

It was Pidge's turn to chuckle when his forehead bumped against her shoulder softly as he relaxed under her touch. "I think you've been spending too much time in your Lion, Shiro. You're taking on some cat behaviors."

"Sorry," He pulled away, opening his eyes and telling his chest that there was nothing to be torn up about breaking off physical contact with Pidge. He took in and released a deep breath, "Just tired. Did you need something?"

“Need something?” She blinked as she echoed the question, still half standing her knees on the couch cushion. Still closer to him than was necessary.

Shiro felt his smile return, “I doubt getting used as a pillow was on your to do list for the afternoon?”

“No,” She turned away then, retrieving her -- he was fairly certain they were actually Matt’s -- glasses from the arm of the couch and putting them back on. He hadn’t realized she wasn’t wearing them. She sat back down on the couch normally with a huff, “I was going to go rest for a bit, and I saw you in here with one of my pads. I figured maybe you had some questions for me, but you were asleep. I know you don’t get much more shut eye than I do, so I figured I could wait around a bit.”

“Thanks,” He leaned back into the couch, roughly pulling both hands over his face and through his hair trying to soothe the lingering sensation of Pidge’s softer touch. “No questions. Not yet anyways. I just conked out reading through the latest few. I don’t know how you get through all of that data so quickly.”

“Speed reading. Dad and Matt used to have me review their field work.” She wasn’t looking at him now, “Before the Kerberos Mission.”

“That sounds like the Katie they were always talking about.”

“I guess I’m pretty different now.”

“Probably. We all are.” He reached across cautiously, putting a hand on her shoulder, “A lot’s happened, but I know Commander Holt and Matt would be proud of everything you’ve accomplished.”

Pidge fidgeted with the glasses, swallowing hard and blinking a few times before letting out a shaky breath and leaning into Shiro’s side. “I don’t know about that. I lied to my Mom about what I was doing when I joined the Garrison.” She released another shaky breath, and he wrapped his arm around both her shoulders, pulling her in closer. “She probably has no idea what’s happened, and after Dad and Matt? I can’t go home empty handed. I can’t. None of them would ever forgive me.”

“Katie…”

“Besides, Matt loved my hair,” She laughed harshly. “He’d cry to see what I’ve done to it after how long it took to grow out. Matt will--”

“Katie,” Shiro interrupted, squeezing her shoulder as he did. “You are incredibly brave and resourceful. You’ve done amazing and brilliant things that have saved all of our lives more than once. You’re all of the best things Matt and your Father told me about. There’s no way they wouldn’t be as proud of you as I am.”

“You can’t know that.”

He grit his teeth and took a slow breath, “Maybe, but that doesn’t sound like the Sam and Matt Holt I know. I did spend a lot of time with them on the flight out to Kerberos, I think I have a decent idea of how they feel about you.”

She shook her head, but leaned in closer against him.

“You could always start growing your hair out again,” He suggested in what he hoped was a joking tone.

She laughed, and even though it sounded shaky, it encouraged him to continue, “What?”

“Take away something Matt could complain about after we rescue him. It’s not as though your identity is a secret anymore.” He bit his lower lip for half a second, “Only if you want to, of course. Whatever makes you more comfortable.”

“Lance would make fun of me.”

“I won’t let him.”

He could hear the smirk returning to her voice, “Like you could stop him.”

“Oh, I could. When it’s important.”

“My hair is hardly important.”

“That’s up to you.” He chuckled, “I am a little curious what your long hair looks like in person.”

“Ah, the truth comes out.”

“You’re the one who got me thinking about hair.” He hummed contemplatively, “Then again, what if Lance starts hitting on you like Nyma and Allura? Never mind. Definitely against the long hair.”

She laughed warmly at that, “That definitely wouldn’t happen.”

“Seems like a risk to me. He hasn’t noticed you mostly out of habit so far. Change your look, and Lance might start seeing what’s been under his nose.”

“Yeah, right.” She shifted, making herself more comfortable against his side.

“The Green Lion of intellect and daring,” He leaned over a pressed a quick kiss to the bangs covering her forehead, and felt the Black Lion in the back of his mind, purring in approval. He shouldn’t be encouraged by that. It was just the Lion liking that he recognized the key Quintessence qualities of the Green Lion in Katie. “It’s honestly surprising men haven’t been paying you more attention.”

“Oh, you’re a laugh a minute, Shiro.”

“Am I?”

“Yep.” She pulled away completely now, getting to her feet, and he mentally chastised himself for crossing the line into inappropriate. He shouldn’t listen to the Black Lion so much. “You should try to get some sleep in a bed. Leave the Galra translations to me. Can’t have our leader nodding off at the helm.”

“Giving me orders?”

“Someone has to. You arguing?”

“Not me, Madam Paladin.”

She snorted a laugh, and a small hand shot forward to muss his hair, ending with a gentle caress in the short cut section near the nape of his neck, “Rest up.”

He smiled up at her, feeling that hitch in in chest again, “Good Night, Miss Holt.”


	2. Lion Hangar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a little hypocritical of her to tell him to sleep in a bed then keep falling asleep in odd places around the castleship herself.

It was early morning around a week later when he made his way down to the Black Lion, only to find it had moved to sit so it was half in the Green Lion’s hangar. Its head rested on giant paws, watching over the Green Lion and her Paladin with a look Shiro would have called proprietary had the giant robot been a living, breathing animal. There was a smugness in the corner of his mind he identified as his connection to her.

“Was she up all night making modifications to the Green Lion again?”

He didn’t really expect an answer, but there was a sense of something very like a ‘yes’ from his feline partner.

Shiro shook his head, but found he was still smiling, “Tells me to sleep in a bed, but still works herself to tatters in the hangar all night.”

He stepped around the Black Lion, kneeling next to Katie as he tried to decide if he should wake her or just pick her up and carry her to her Paladin quarters. The latter would be the simpler solution, with less arguing involved, and the bonus of holding her for the length of time it took to get her back to her room to rest properly.

He coughed when that thought made the Black Lion purr encouragement in the back of his mind. She was not being helpful at all.

The Green Lion lifted its head to watch as he started setting aside the equipment and tangle of cables half burying the sleeping Paladin until found her portable computer plugged not into its systems, but the Black Lion’s. 

What on Earth had she been working on last night? That made the decision on waking her up or not for him. He couldn’t unplug this from Black Lion’s systems without getting her okay first.

“Katie?” It was a risk using her old name when she hadn’t shared it with the other Paladins yet, but he felt safe that the others were still asleep at this hour and the Lions would keep her secrets. If they couldn’t see their homes or their families again for a long time, he wanted someone to keep calling her by her name, “Katie, wake up.”

She rubbed her eyes groggily, before blinking up at him. “Shiro? What’s up?”

“You fell asleep in the Lion hangar.” He smiled warmly at the nickname before he ever spoke it, “Time to go get some rest in a real bed, Madam Paladin.”

She managed to combine a groan and a laugh in response.

“Is it safe to unplug this stuff from Black Lion?”

"Huh?" She looked around, somewhat blearily, fingers absently tracing over the cables connecting to the Black Lion's panel until they found their way to the computer he held carefully in one hand, "Oh."

"Oh," he echoed back playfully, meeting her eyes with a smile that warmed the pit of his stomach. She was cute, sleepy and tangled up in her work, in her dedication to the mission. He mentally chastised himself. It was her dedication was admirable.

She pushed her bangs back from her face as she sat up to check the screen, scrolling through logs without taking the computer back from him. She looked older with her face fully exposed, or it would be accurate to say she looked her age. She was probably only a couple of years younger than he and Matt were. It was easy to dismiss with her baggy "Pidge" clothing, over-large glasses, short stature, and the softer features that would indicate youth in a boy, but when he thought about it, she might actually be a little older than her Garrison classmates. Hadn't Commander Holt said something about Katie attending a different academy with a stronger focus on software and theoretical sciences? Galaxy Garrison was all about practical applications. He wondered how much she had given up to go chasing after the slim possibility of finding them? A slim possibility that she had turned into concrete results he reminded himself. After all, she had (working with the others) found him, found Voltron, and ended up halfway across the universe making inroads at the edges of the Galra Empire. She was a skilled pilot and good at hacking into and reverse engineering alien technology. Maybe practical applications wasn't that much of a sacrifice for her.

"Yeah, we're good." Katie pushed herself up to her knees, and started carefully disconnecting cables from the computer. She wobbled as she started leaning over to disconnect the cables from Black Lion, and put a hand to his shoulder, leaning her weight against him as she continued. He swallowed the urge to stretch a hand out to hold her arm or her waist, to help her maintain balance, and instead waited patiently, the computer still resting in his cybernetic hand.

Warmth and that proprietary feeling he'd sensed when he'd first arrived in the hangars radiated from the Black Lion in the back of his mind. The Lion was so much louder and more opinionated when he was closer to it. Was it the same for everyone?

"So," He needed the distraction more than she did. "What were you doing?"

She straightened up to blink at him, her voice slower to respond, "Doing?"

"With the Lions?" He prompted, it took effort not to grin widely at this sleepy Katie. All the sharp edges and sarcastic barbs were worn duller than even her usual softening towards her friends, and it was adorable. He also knew she probably wouldn't appreciate him commenting on it, even wordlessly.

"Right," She took off the glasses that had slipped down her nose, then looked around with an air of mild confusion when she realized the other hand was occupied keeping herself upright and would have to be moved to clean the lenses. She waved the glasses in a non-committal gesture before answering, "I was installing some upgrades to the radar to account for the cloaking technology we ran into with those fish aliens last week. Should propagate out to the others next time we form Voltron."

He let his smile widen a tiny bit, "And the Green Lion wouldn't have done the same thing?"

She huffed and retracted her hand and with it her weight from his shoulder, "If you don't want me to mess with your Lion, just say so."

He tried to ignore the cold drop of his stomach the sudden lack of contact caused, "I didn't say that."

“I’m not awake enough for this,” She mumbled, closing her eyes and threading her empty hand through her bangs again then over the back of her skull.

“I mean,” Shiro set the computer aside and took the glasses from her, pocketing them. “Thank you for the extra effort with Black Lion. You didn’t have to, and I appreciate it.”

“Oh. Oh good,” Her shoulders relaxed, and she slumped towards him slightly. “I mean, you’re welcome.”

“Come on, there’s a nice soft bed waiting for you in the Paladin quarters,” He offered her a hand, wordlessly promising an escort back to her quarters. “I think it’s time for you to visit it.”

“Probably,” She sighed and took his offered hand, letting him pull both of them to their feet before looking back down at the collection of equipment she’d been nesting in. “I ought to put this stuff away.”

“It can wait,” Shiro urged, gently pulling her forward towards the hangar exit. “Proper sleep time.”

Katie stumbled trying to shuffle over the cables, and he caught her against his shoulder before she’d done much more than lose her balance. His arm instinctively curled around her waist to make sure she didn’t actually fall.

In the corner of his mind, Black Lion purred encouragingly, making his ears heat up with embarrassment.

“Shut up,” Katie mumbled, shooting a glare up at Green Lion.

“What?” He tried to pretend his voice hadn’t pitched a bit higher.

“Not you,” She muttered, sounding annoyed, but letting her head and weight drape against his side comfortably. “Smart ass green cat has a lot of opinions and no filter.”

Well that was a relief, although he wondered what the Green Lion had said to earn that reaction.

“Yours too, huh?”

“Too?” She looked up at him, cheek not leaving his shoulder. He wasn’t inclined to complain about that. “I didn’t think Black Lion would be the chatty sort.”

“I’m not sure I’d call her chatty, but she has ways of telling me her opinion when I’m nearby.”  He grinned at her, “Quite insistently.”

Katie chuckled at that, “Meddling cats.”

“What earned Green Lion a ‘shut up’, anyways?”

“Nothing you want to hear about,” She shifted where she leaned against him, her hair catching on the captain’s bar pinned at his collar. She sighed in defeat, not even trying to untangle it. “I need to cut this mess.”

“I thought you were growing your hair out?” He reached up carefully, working to untangle the hair and remove the offending pin.

“I thought you were against me growing my hair out.”

“I’m for whatever you want to do.” He finished removing the pin from both her hair and his vest, “Victory. You’re free.”

She hummed absentmindedly, still not moving away from him, “Maybe I’ll cut my hair like yours.”

“If that’s what you want to do.”

“I dunno if I could pull one of those undercuts off, but I like the silky, fluffy feel of yours.”

“You’re welcome to play with my hair whenever you want,” He responded before thinking, then blushed violently when his own words registered to his ears. “I mean...”

“Promise?” Katie answered sleepily. She was falling asleep again, this time standing up.

“Promise,” He assured, half hoping she would forget the conversation and his blush in the morning. “Let’s get you to bed.”

“Maybe I will grow my hair out,” She mumbled, practically cuddling against him. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

“Always,” He spoke softly, adjusting the arm wrapped around her for a better grip. “You think you can walk back?”

“Yeah,” She chuckled into his shoulder. “I’m no princess. I’m a Paladin.”

“You haven’t seen Allura in action. Princesses are tougher out here in space than they were on Earth.” He couldn’t dismiss any princess as weak after seeing Allura in a fight, “But you’ll always be Madam Paladin to me.”

That earned him a snort, “Sounds about right. I never wanted to be anybody’s princess.”

They started making their way out of the hangar, Shiro half-carrying a sleepy Katie Holt. He couldn’t help but think of how Commander Sam Holt _had_ referred to Katie as his “brilliant princess”, and Matt had rolled his eyes every time. Had Matt ever mentioned Katie not liking to be called a princess? He couldn’t recall it, but his eye-rolling had certainly conveyed the same sentiment.

He’d always thought he’d end up with a special girl in his life he’d call “Princess” one day, but now he was on the far side of the galaxy from home and meeting a real princess had changed his understanding of the term a lot. It wasn’t a simple pet name like it was on Earth in modern times, it was a title full of responsibility and power. Really, after all his experiences, he didn’t want a delicate “Princess” on a pedestal. He wanted an equal and a partner, where the leaning on each other for strength could go both ways. At this point in his life, and equal meant a fellow soldier. Okay, and maybe he still wanted someone he could call “Princess” occasionally too. But, he couldn’t let himself think about Katie like that. They were in the middle of a war, or a guerrilla rebellion at least, and her priority was finding and rescuing her family. There wasn’t time for romance, and she wouldn’t be interested in the prisoner of war and her big brother’s best friend even if there were time for such things.

Takashi Shirogane, get your head together.

And that was definitely not a disapproving snort from a giant robotic lion.

When they reached her room, he returned the glasses and bade her good night at the doorway. He had no business entering her room, and they all had little enough privacy already. She ran her hand distractedly through her hair several times while looking around the room as if it didn’t quite register where she was, before she told him good night and shut the door behind her.

She had no business being that cute when she was tired.

He shook his head and decided maybe he needed a couple of more hours of sleep too. Clearly he was a bit out of it himself, getting distracted so easily.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May or may not write more in this specific vein. May just hop over to the next drabble set for this ship.

Shiro draped his arms over his knees and leaned forward after collapsing onto the couch. He was exhausted, and it seemed for the best to let his sweat drip onto the floor rather than the cushions. The last battle had been not exactly hard, but long and all the more tiring for it.

An ice cold hand slid up from the nape of his neck through the short cropped hairs at the back of his head. He shivered, then leaned into the contact. The coolness after the heat of the Lion cockpits during a long fight was welcome. He twisted to look up at who was behind the touch to find a grinning Katie.

“Hey,” He greeted her softly.

“Hey,” she half-laughed back at him. “You know, Lance almost jumped out of his skin when I did that.”

He shrugged, “It feels nice.”

“She’s a demon!” Lance called from the other side of the lounge. “An evil, ice demon! Don’t trust her!”

“Doesn’t your Lion have ice powers,” She called back playfully. “You should be immune to cold!”

“I. Am. Not. A. Lion,” Lance retorted.

“Pidge,” Shiro interrupted in a warning tone. “I get the impression maybe you did more than a cold hand on Lance’s neck?”

“Maybe,” She wheedled.

“Pidge,” He drew her name out. He was the oldest Paladin, sure, but he wasn’t that much older than the rest of them. How did he always get relegated to the role of Team Dad? If he was being honest, he was a bit jealous of their comfort in being immature with each other. There were times when the combination of the small age gap and Lance, Hunk, and Katie’s time as teammates at the Garrison seemed to create an insurmountable barrier for him to cross. Now was one of those times.

He watched Hunk and Lance whisper together while Katie’s hand was still on the back of his head, fingers playing slowly through his hair. He really wanted to close his eyes and relax into the contact, but the entire team was here, and he couldn’t give the wrong impression. Never mind that his attraction to Katie was a very real thing, him giving in to that would be bad. She wasn’t going to feel the same way, and in the interest of team cohesion he couldn’t show any such bias. Also, Matt would probably kill him if he even suspected Shiro had put the moves on his little sister.

There was a strange tugging sensation at the back of his collar, and then a shock of wet and cold. He jolted in his seat as Katie and Keith started cackling madly together. He stretched for the piece of ice sliding down his spine inside his shirt, but couldn’t reach it. He twisted back and forth, earning him increased giggles from his teammates.

Lance jumped up from his place, pointing triumphantly, “I warned you!”

This caused Lance and Hunk both to join the fit of giggling while a chunk of ice melted at the small of his back.

Even the Team Dad was allowed to retaliate at this point, right? Katie was the closest, and clearly the instigator, her cold hands a side effect of wherever she’d been collecting ice from. He grabbed her on his next twist in her direction, yanking her over the back of the couch and into his lap. She yelped and laughed simultaneously at the motion, not actually putting up much resistance. Up until he started tickling, at which point she started writhing and laughing and yelling in a way that was entirely too satisfying. All around them, the Paladins laughed with childish abandon.

He slowed, finding himself with a lap full of giggling Katie, her lengthening hair styled differently from normal, causing him to pause.

She blinked up at the interruption, and he knew he must be staring, but he didn’t seem able to stop himself.

“Your hair,” He trailed off without explanation.

“It looks weird, doesn’t it?” She shifted, trying to straighten herself, which just didn’t work from her sprawled position between his arms.

“It does not look weird,” Lance retorted indignantly. “It is sexy and practical, and it fits under your helmet!”

Shiro glared momentarily at Lance, and he wasn’t certain if it was because he was unhappy with the idea of Lance calling Katie sexy, the interruption in general, or the idea that the new hairstyle was another thing shared between them that Shiro had missed out on. He knew the seed of jealousy in his gut was entirely inappropriate though.

Katie reached up to fiddle with the end of the braid that wrapped tightly around the lower part of her skull, ending with a small tail to one side of her head.  (Inspired by [this fanart](http://ohprcr.tumblr.com/post/147383346967/in-which-pidges-hair-grow-longer-and-lance-feels) by ohprcr.) The look exposed half of her neck and revealed her usually hidden cheekbones and jawline, making her simultaneously look older and more feminine than usual. The style really suited her actually.

“It looks nice,” Shiro confirmed, feeling slightly undone by the change that had occurred without any involvement from him.

“Thanks,” Katie blushed and he tried not to respond to that expression with a blush of his own.

“You’re welcome.”

“I did it!” Lance announced triumphantly, ice demon accusation evidently forgotten.

“I know Lance,” Katie groused. “Thank you.”

Lance looked ridiculously proud of himself, “You. Are. Welcome.”

Shiro chuckled and shook his head. This was his family. They were loud and boisterous and he loved them all.

Keith deposited himself on the couch next to them, a mug of ice in one hand and the other flipping Katie’s bangs off her forehead, “How you doing there, Pidgeon?”

She laughed, her hands moving up and down where they were braced against Shiro’s arms to stave off tickling, “I’m a prisoner, clearly.”

Shiro’s gut turned uncomfortably and he jerked his hands away from her, feeling the blood draining from his face at the comment. It was an idle joke. He knew it was a joke. And yet he couldn’t shut down the feeling of his stomach dropping to his ankles and the floor going out from under him.

He distantly registered the closest laughing taper off, and Katie’s eyes widening in horror. Everything seemed to spin wildly. Keith looked as frozen as he felt. Lance and Hunk were still laughing; they hadn’t noticed yet. They would soon.

He’d ruined it. Light and carefree moments weren’t so common for them that he could afford to be ruining one with his issues. Not over a throwaway joke.

Hands clapped to either side of his face, pulling his attention to focus on Katie.

“I’m sorry,” She was sitting up, still mostly in his lap. His arms were raised awkwardly to either side, avoiding touching her. “That was a bad joke. I’m sorry. You’re fine. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

He shook his head slightly. He knew it was a joke, He knew she hadn’t meant it that way. It wasn’t making a difference to his feelings that he knew better logically.

A hand came to rest on his shoulder, and Keith’s voice broke in, “What can we do to help?”

“Shiro?” It was Lance. He’d really ruined everything now. “Hey man, are you okay?”

“Lance shush,” Hunk hissed. “Anything we can--?”

“Give him a minute to breathe,” Keith stopped them, unfailingly patient even as he removed his hand slowly and carefully.

Katie’s expression just crumpled in front of him. Her hands moved away and she slid off his lap, her head ducking down, unable to meet his eyes any longer. Not that he was in any position to respond in a helpful way. It only made him feel worse. His chest constricted, and breathing became more difficult.

“Sorry,” Katie was mumbling next to him, but he could feel her recoiling away from him, all the recent closeness they’d been building was crumbling because of his inability to take a silly joke.

“Do you want space?” Keith’s voice was careful as it interrupted his swirling thoughts.

“Ye-- Yeah,” He pushed himself to his feet, running a hand through his hair. “I’m just going to step out for a bit. Don’t worry about it.”

He double-timed it out of the lounge, making a beeline for his quarters and the chance to re-discipline his thoughts.

* * *

There was a soft knock at his door, rousing him from meditation. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since he fled his teammates.

“Shiro, can I come in?”

His eyes widened when he recognized the hesitant voice as Katie’s. He thought she’d avoid him after his reaction in the lounge, but she was right outside his quarters. She had come looking for him.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to see anyone right now,” Her voice was muffled through the closed door. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I mean, as okay as you can be.”

He opened the door to find her back towards him, like she had been about to lean against the door, or about to leave, he reminded himself.

“You can come in, if you want to.”

Wide, light brown eyes glanced up to meet his, and he could have sworn he saw relief there. She nodded and turned to slip past him into the Black Paladin’s quarters.

“About earlier, I--"

“I’m sorry,” Katie cut him off. “I was making a joke, and I didn’t think about-- It’s no excuse though. I should have been more considerate. I don’t want you to feel like-- I don't want you to be uncomfortable around me.”

His chest tightened strangely with relief and warmth. He let out a short breath before speaking, "I was worried you wouldn't be comfortable around me after that."

"Me?!" She practically choked on the word. "I was the one who screwed up. I--"

He put a hand to her hair, putting a stop to her self-depreciation with a touch, and smoothing a tousled tuft that had escaped her braid, “Katie.”

She swallowed hard, then bit her lower lip, just staring up at him for a long, charged moment. “We’re still okay then?”

“Of course we are.” He took a step closer to her, his fingers absently trailing over the pulled and ruined braid, “What happened here?”

“Bad fidgeting habits,” She half laughed, obviously self-conscious. He could imagine her normally busy hands going to tousle her hair as she stressed over what had happened only to meet the ordered resistance of the braid. “Lance already complained about me ruining his handiwork.”

“Do you want me to fix it?”

She stopped breathing for a second, and his breath stopped with hers. “You know how?”

“I, uh,” No. No he didn’t. It just seemed like a natural thing to offer. Okay, and maybe that small part of him that had been jealous earlier wanted the excuse to be involved in the change she had made to her appearance. How juvenile of him. He chuckled, “Not really. I figured I could try.”

That earned him a relieved grin from Katie, “Sure, why not? I was just going to take it down anyways.”

He took his hand away from her hair at last, and turned to look for his comb, “Grab a seat.”

When he turned back, she was sitting sideways gingerly on the edge of his bunk. It was his turn to bite his lip before seating himself behind her.

Everything seemed to take forever as he set the comb to one side and seemed to adjust his position a dozen times before he finally reached over her shoulder to start slowly unraveling the now messy braid. His fingers brushed her shoulder and neck as they sat together in silence, her back to him. Every touch felt electric to his senses, but he kept reminding himself she couldn’t possibly feel the same. He finally finished unscrambling the braid and started to move away to pick up the comb.

She sighed heavily and dropped her head, drawing his attention away from the comb and back to her slumped shoulders.

“I really am sorry,” Katie’s voice sounded dejected. “I was having so much fun, I didn’t think about what I was saying or how it would affect you.”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it isn’t.” He heard her clenched teeth in the way her voice ground out the words, “I hurt you.”

He wrapped his human arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him until her back was against his chest and he curled over her, pressing his cheek against the side of her neck that had been blocked by the braid earlier. The same space his fingers had been ghosting over moments before. He squeezed, wishing he knew how to take any guilt-ridden feelings away from her. Wishing he knew the words to comfort her and put things between them right.

“Katie, please.”

“Shiro.”

He squeezed her closer, “It was an accident. I overreacted. Right now, the only thing that hurts is the idea you might not want to be around me now because of how I reacted.”

That made her go rigid then half turn in his embrace, returning the hug, burying fingers against the back of his neck and into the short hairs at the back of his head, pressing him closer with reassuring force.

“Never,” she breathed the word into his shoulder, and he squeezed briefly tighter before wrapping both arms around her in a gentler embrace.

“Good.”

They sat together like that for a long time, just holding each other. He felt muscles un-knotting and some small part of the tension that he’d been trying to meditate away finally dissipating. She didn’t fix him, people didn’t fix each other like that, but her presence, her acceptance, helped.

“We should get some rest.”

“I am,” Katie hummed against his shoulder.

She sounded far too comfortable. The same way he was far too comfortable, and perfectly satisfied with this. Just this. Holding her and feeling his brain and heart relax and give him room to just breathe. It was hard to remind himself that he couldn't just sit here like this forever. They had duties to get back to. They needed real sleep before the next emergency came up. Hunk and Coran were probably nearly done making tonight's dinner by now. They had to show up, otherwise he'd worry them even more than he already had. It was strange that Keith hadn't come to check in on him yet.

He tangled fingers through Katie's curling hair and sighed deeply. Just five more minutes. Just a little more time to breathe and just be.


End file.
